You really don’t want to make horror author Vincent Tirado mad. If you do, you just might end up in a book. I recently spoke with them about You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom.
Tell me about your latest book.
You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom is a modern gothic novel about a young Afro-Dominican woman named Xiomara who goes to a will-reading for her grandfather and is instead told that someone in the family is a literal demon that must be banished or the entire family will be damned. Though no one believes there is a demon at first, Xiomara tries to suss out the demon on her own while walking on eggshells around her extended relatives who all seemingly hated her deceased mother for being the grandfather’s favorite. Unfortunately, as the threat of the demon looms closer, Xiomara finds evidence that someone in her family was responsible for her mother’s untimely death–and she begins to wonder if her family is worth saving at all. Put in another way, this novel is a specific kind of feminist rage in which a woman isn’t lashing out over her own mistreatment, but the mistreatment of her own mother.
Why did you decide to write it?
Kendrick Lamar taught me I wasn’t hating enough (LOL). In reality, I was angry. Entire characters in this novel were directly inspired by my relatives. You could almost say I took the advice “write what you know” a little too seriously. Even the dynamics between characters are what I’ve observed between my own relatives. On the other hand, I think these messy dynamics are (perhaps, unfortunately) common in many Latine families. On days when one of my Mexican friends and I are swapping chisme, we always seem to have similar family drama that exasperates us—and yet brings our friendship closer. I hope that anyone else who has a messy family like this can rest assured that they are not alone.
What do you want readers to learn from the story?
I’m not sure if there’s something to learn from the story except that even family can betray you. The fact that you share blood with someone doesn’t mean they’re suddenly incapable of harming you. And in reality, they may do things to intentionally harm you. Family relationships take work just like all other relationships, and we shouldn’t default to being our worst selves when we’re around them.
When did you fall in love with the written word?
I see your question and I raise you a “I didn’t realize I was already in love with the written word when I was in middle school” answer. As a kid, I spent a lot of my time in libraries because I loved to read. My best friend and I used to go to the local library every Saturday and pick out a stack of books to read over the course of the week, and then return them the following Saturday and pick out a new stack of books. At some point, I realized I couldn’t trick my teachers into thinking I was paying attention if I had another book in front of me–so I started writing my own stories to make it seem like I was taking notes. By the time I reached high school, I wrote my first novel, an achievement that sparked something in me I have never been extinguished–a genuine love for storytelling.
If you could pick another profession, what would it be and why?
The way my life is now, it would be between medicine/healthcare or IT. I already work IT as a day job, but I loved learning my pre-med courses in college. I think it would have to be one of these two fields because I have an insatiable curiosity and love to learn above all else–including reading.
What’s the best part of being an author?
The knowledge that I have tricked people into thinking I write good stories.
What’s the worst part of being an author?
The knowledge that I did not successfully trick other people into thinking I write good stories. (I know you can’t win ’em all, but I’m a perfectionist okay!)
What books have you read lately and loved, and what books are you looking forward to reading?
Some books that I absolutely ADORED were The Curse of Hester Gardens by Tamika Thompson, Slasher Summer by E.L. Chen, and House of Margins by Tlotlo Tsamaase–and yes, I know I’m biased because I blurbed them but no one’s asking me to shout them out here, so you can trust me when I say these three are PHENOMENAL, and I cannot wait to have their hardcovers up on my shelves next to my other faves. One book I’m looking forward to reading is There Are No Giant Crabs in This Novel: A Novel of Giant Crabs by Jason Pargin–I’m obsessed with his series!
What’s next for you?
A middle grade, a dark romance, and maybeeeeee a podcast? I’m always working on something, but nothing I can talk about definitively yet!
Do you have anything you would like to add?
I voice act in SO many podcasts–I just don’t have it on my website because I don’t use my pen name for it! But if you’d like to catch up on the kind of work I’m doing, people should follow me on bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/v-e-tirado.com.
Use the Black Fiction Addiction affiliate link to purchase your copy of You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom by Vincent Tirado.
To learn more about horror author and Pura Belpre award-winning author Vincent Tirado, email them at vincent.e.tirado@gmail.com, visit their website (v-e-tirado.com) or connect on socials: v-e-tirado (bsky), v_e_tirado (Instagram)